The parietal lobe plays a key role in attention and motor planning. The lateral intraparietal area (LIP) is proposed to function as a priority map, where objects are represented by activity proportional to their behavioral importance. LIP integrates bottom-up visual inputs and top-down signals, such as saccade plans, to guide attention and eye movements. The spatial location of peak activity in LIP is used by the oculomotor system to direct saccades and by the visual system to guide attention. LIP activity reflects both visual salience and cognitive inputs, and is influenced by factors such as reward expectation and task relevance. The priority map model of LIP is supported by evidence showing that LIP activity is modulated by attentional demands, task goals, and reward-related information. LIP also plays a role in decision-making, with activity reflecting the temporal dynamics of decision processes. While some LIP neurons may encode nonspatial information, the majority of activity in LIP is related to spatial processing and the prioritization of visual stimuli. The priority map model of LIP is consistent with a wide range of experimental findings, including its role in covert attention, saccade planning, and visual search. The model suggests that LIP activity is used to guide both attention and eye movements by prioritizing stimuli based on their behavioral relevance.The parietal lobe plays a key role in attention and motor planning. The lateral intraparietal area (LIP) is proposed to function as a priority map, where objects are represented by activity proportional to their behavioral importance. LIP integrates bottom-up visual inputs and top-down signals, such as saccade plans, to guide attention and eye movements. The spatial location of peak activity in LIP is used by the oculomotor system to direct saccades and by the visual system to guide attention. LIP activity reflects both visual salience and cognitive inputs, and is influenced by factors such as reward expectation and task relevance. The priority map model of LIP is supported by evidence showing that LIP activity is modulated by attentional demands, task goals, and reward-related information. LIP also plays a role in decision-making, with activity reflecting the temporal dynamics of decision processes. While some LIP neurons may encode nonspatial information, the majority of activity in LIP is related to spatial processing and the prioritization of visual stimuli. The priority map model of LIP is consistent with a wide range of experimental findings, including its role in covert attention, saccade planning, and visual search. The model suggests that LIP activity is used to guide both attention and eye movements by prioritizing stimuli based on their behavioral relevance.